1990 Holden Commodore Executive 3.8 from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Fast in a straight line, but don't turn any corners
Faults:
Radiator (my fault, no coolant).
Aircon needed frequent re-gassing.
Went through front tyres very fast (heavy wear on inside of tyre, well known fault).
Paint faded quickly, poor quality paint.
Exterior panels had poor fit.
Fuse box cover kept falling down on legs - extremely annoying and dangerous, as the panel is large.
General Comments:
This car has a huge amount of power, the fastest four door sedan in the world at the time. The V6 almost as fast as the V8, and actually faster than many older V8's.
The engine, although a bit noisy, is one of the best things about the car; it's very torquey and could pull a car full of passengers up a vertical cliff practically. Fuel economy is reasonable, considering the technological age it came from.
We had this car in our family for 15 years, after my Mum bought it ex government. She had it for about 13 years, and I then ran it another two. A very reliable car; most of the problems we had with it were from our neglect of it, and the stupid incompetence of our mechanic of the time.
If this car have been better built, it could've been a much better thing; although durable, it felt quite cheap. The seats were uncomfortable and flat, and looked old quickly.
Suspension is ridiculously soft, and the handling is pretty bad. Like an absolute rocketship in a straight line, however.
Massive amounts of power, no ABS/airbags, live rear axle, cheap tyres and a wet road make this into a potential deathtrap for a P-plater.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th September, 2012
20th Apr 2018, 09:03
I’m the original reviewer back with a few more comments. A few faults the old girl had, which I forgot were...
Harmonic balancer went bad around 14-15 years and 150,000km. Coils went bad around the same time. Fuel gauge faulty and needed constant tapping to work from new (all VN Commodores suffered from this!)
Interior would mist up, probably from minor water leaks around the windows, beginning around 13 years.
Oil leaks from under 10 years (just about everything leaked in this era though). All these little things make the car sound bad, but we have most fond memories of her. Always started first turn and only broke down once in 17 years.